Chapter 61: She Chose Him

When Ji Xueli woke up, it was already noon. She yawned, hugged the blanket, and turned over, ready to sleep a little longer.

Wait a minute… the blanket…

Without opening her eyes, Ji Xueli stretched out her hand to feel beside her. The mattress was wide and soft… It wasn’t the couch she had slept on last night.

She suddenly sat up, looking around in disbelief.

“What’s with that ghostly expression?” Duan Qingyu walked in from the living room and, seeing her surprised look, chuckled softly.

“You scared me! I thought I ended up in someone else’s room,” Ji Xueli said, sighing with relief when she saw it was Duan Qingyu.

Duan Qingyu took a sip of coffee and sighed. “I was so thoughtful, letting Li Li sleep in the bed, and I still scared her.”

“The most thoughtful thing you can do is drink less,” Ji Xueli replied with a smirk.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something bad last night?” Duan Qingyu approached her.

The scene of their kiss flashed in Ji Xueli’s mind, and she hesitated on whether to say anything…

What if he was just drunk and didn’t have that intention? Mentioning it now would just make things awkward…

Forget it, it’s better not to bring it up. After all, she wasn’t sure about his feelings.

“I did, actually. I helped you all the way last night, and my arm hurts like crazy now.” Ji Xueli tried to divert the conversation.

Duan Qingyu put down his coffee cup, his eyes turning a little colder, but he quickly turned away, disappearing from her sight. “Let me help Li Li by massaging it.”

“Ah, no need…” Ji Xueli quickly waved her hand to refuse when she saw him walking towards her.

Without giving her a chance to protest, Duan Qingyu firmly grabbed her arm, not allowing her to escape. Then, he applied firm but soothing pressure, and her aching arm gradually felt some relief.

“Not bad, Young Master Duan,” Ji Xueli said, surprised as she looked at him.

She had almost tried to escape, thinking he might be trying to get back at her, but it turned out he was actually massaging her.

Duan Qingyu chuckled lightly.

Ji Xueli wanted to say something more, but her phone’s annoying ringtone interrupted her.

She picked up her phone from the bedside—it was an unfamiliar number…

Forget it, the original owner probably knew this person, so she decided to answer it. After a moment of hesitation, she chose to pick up.

“Miss Ji, it’s Xie Yujun,” the voice on the other end said once the call connected.

Xie Yujun? Why was she calling her?

Ji Xueli withdrew her arm. “Hmm, what’s the matter?”

“You must know about the Haitang Bay project,” Xie Yujun went straight to the point.

“Yes, isn’t that the project of Ji Yanzhou and Duan Qingyu?” Ji Xueli didn’t understand why she was bringing this up.

Upon hearing this, Duan Qingyu didn’t raise his eyes but instead released her arm and lazily leaned against the side, as if the person on the phone had nothing to do with him.

“Yes, Yanzhou has been following up on it for a long time, but now Mr. Duan has broken the contract and kicked Yanzhou out of the project,” Xie Yujun said calmly.

Oh… so they had fallen out? But why was she telling her this? Did she want her to persuade Duan Qingyu?

Ji Xueli pondered this but replied nonchalantly, “So what?”

Xie Yujun could tell from her tone that she wasn’t interested, but she still pressed on. “Yanzhou has been involved for a long time, and you have a good relationship with Mr. Duan now. I hope you can help him, for the sake of the friendship you two once had.”

Her friendship with Ji Yanzhou was just that they had grown up together, but recently, he had been acting like he was on some jealousy medication, which annoyed her.

Ji Xueli didn’t respond but instead glanced at Duan Qingyu and softly said, “You’re the one who caused this…”

Duan Qingyu shrugged and drawled, “Do you want to help him out?”

He stared at her with his dark eyes, as if re-enacting a previous scene—last time, she had broken up with him for Ji Yanzhou. What about now…?

He was curious to see what choice she would make this time.

Ji Xueli looked at the phone. Their issues were none of her business—she was just an NPC in this story. As long as she took care of herself and the male lead, that was enough.

“No thanks. I suggest you talk to Duan Qingyu directly; I don’t understand the ins and outs of it, and asking me won’t help,” she refused.

Duan Qingyu paused for a moment as he stood up. This time, she chose him…

“Miss Ji…” Xie Yujun’s anxious voice came through again, but Ji Xueli quickly ended the call.

She stretched lazily. “Is there breakfast? I’m starving.”

“Yes, get up soon,” Duan Qingyu replied, concealing his emotions with a calm tone.